Welcoming the Darkness
by KiiroUsagi-sa
Summary: How do you think being blind feels…? Never to see the sun, the leaves, the grass, the sky again? I wish I could see them…. Sight is such a gift. A gift most people seem to take for granted. That gift was taken from me at a young age. Now that I don't have the chance to see those things again, I'm going to show you my world. Welcome to the darkness….. AU. YULLEN.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcoming the Darkness**

_Chapter One_

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I woke to the uncomfortable feeling of something jabbing into my side and had to stifle the yawn threatening to break free, lazily raising a hand to cover my mouth in the process. Aimlessly running my right hand along the edge of the bed frame, I hit something unusually warm and furry, causing me to jerk my hand back to my chest in silent alarm. My breathing fastened despite knowing it most likely wasn't anything harmful until my brain registered just what I've touched.

This was one of the problems that came with the lack of sight; you just don't seem to know what's right in front of you sometimes and you get freaked out by the smallest things. It was such a hassle at times.

I exhaled the breath I didn't know I had held in and offered a weak smile to the furry object, reaching out – slowly this time – to run my deft fingers along the silky fur I presumed to be a beautiful golden hue. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" I murmured, not really expecting an answer, deciding to break the silence before it broke me first. I hated the silence. More so now that I didn't have sight. If I couldn't see it, I needed to hear it, feel it, or taste it. Well, not so much the last one. That was only for foods and drinks. I can't exactly imagine licking my dog for the sake of knowing he was there, that'd just be….odd.

The soft huff of foul breath that flutters across my cheeks from the sitting position I was currently in startled me slightly and I chuckled in response to my monstrous dog of a pet. If he stood, he'd probably match my height…or maybe more. It would definitely be surprising to see such a large dog walking down the street first thing in the morning. He always had a thing for long walks in the morning.

When I first bought him, he was so small and regular in size it amazes me to realise just how much he's grown from back then. I remember holding him in my hands, feeling how smooth his short fur used to feel on my palms. Now, it was long and shaggy, yet held a lustrous glow to it. At least, that's what I could tell from touch alone.

"I'll take that as a yes," I chuckled, ruffling the golden fur and click my tongue as a signal for him to get up and lead me to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the both of us. But before that, "Tim, can you lead me to the bathroom first?"

The golden Labrador – at least, the person from the pet shop told me it was a golden Labrador when I first bought him, and I'd hate to doubt such a nice man – huffed again before brushing against my side to jump off the bed to drag me by my feet, gripping them softly in his mouth. He licked and nibbled playfully until I swing my own legs off the side of the bed to dangle for a few moments.

Sliding forward, I searched the floor with my toes for the slippers I recalled leaving at the foot of the bed. When I couldn't find them straight away, a whine escaped my throat before I felt Timcanpy drop them at my feet and sit his bottom down. He was most likely staring at me obediently, tail wagging leisurely, waiting for that familiar gesture of the slip of my feet into the slippers and standing.

"Thank you, Tim."

Finally pushing myself off the bed, albeit reluctantly, I remembered to hit the button on the top of the alarm clock before it went off for the morning. I always had a habit of waking up at least fifteen minutes before the alarm sounded and it was only really there in case I ever _did _sleep in. Now that I had this habit down, I couldn't seem to break it, no matter how hard I tried to sleep in.

Every morning it would be the same, wake at a quarter to five, cook breakfast – as well as lunch and dinner – for the day, take a shower, get dressed, pack everything necessary for the day, clean everything before I head out on a morning walk with Timcanpy, and then get to school before the clock reached eight-ten.

Except….these past few weeks have been slightly _different_. And it just so happened that today was the first day at my new high school. I had been transferred to anotherschool because of my legal guardian…._again_. He explained – about a month ago – that he was only a _little _bit out of it due to the alcohol and just _happened _to change schools. Yeah, he isn't the best role model for a teenager….or anyone for that matter.

After that incident, he seemed to have run off again with some more of his female…._friends_, leaving me here in the house he bought with their large expanse of money. Now he's been missing for about….what? Five weeks? The only warning I got about the change of schools was a hastily made audio e-mail received last night along with a thick pile of debts.

Ugh…_more _debts to pay off….

I didn't mind being transferred between schools anymore, it was actually pretty normal and this time, he said, would _apparently_ be the last time that's happened. The good news about this this school was that they in fact, _did _take in blind kids into normal classes like everybody else. At least now I wouldn't have to stay home and study while Master made me entertain his 'friends' at the same time. That was beyond tiring and it was really grating on my nerves.

Shaking my head a little to try and free myself of these thoughts, I instinctively bent my knees a bit to grasp at the soft fur of his body I knew to be by my side at all times possible. Wherever I went, Timcanpy was sure to follow to make certain I didn't knock into anything or get lost in my blindness. I always did have an uncanny knack of getting lost no matter what situation I was in.

I shuffle forward, left hand gliding along the wall while the other was gently brushing the fur on his head until it hits the door frame of the bathroom. Entering, I quickly told Tim to stay while I took my time to wash my face and brush my teeth afterwards.

Some five minutes later and my mouth no longer tasted like I had eaten mounds of cotton balls while I walked out with a small face washer, patting my face with it. As I attempted to dry my face without the help of Timcanpy by my side, I almost smashed into a wall of some sort, stepping on the Labrador's scattered toys around the room and stumbling my way towards the safety of the wall.

Right before I made it to the wall to my right, Tim barked at me in warning from behind, causing me to halt in my steps. Shifting to the side, I turn my head around to give him a thankful smile in the direction I had heard the sound come from, drawing my hand out in front. It was met with the surface of something cold and smooth. It was the metal shelf.

"Ah, right…thanks, Tim. Wouldn't want to hit into that….."

Running my hand along the somewhat dusty shelf on my way to the kitchen, I mentally reminded myself to clean it after school finished just as Tim's fur brushed against the side of my leg before trotting ahead of me. His stomach, as well as my own, both growled at the thought of food and almost had me laughing sheepishly at the synchronized sounds.

Shooing Timcanpy out of the kitchen once I made it to the counter, he whined from being chased out in his state of hunger while I just gave him a reassuring pat that his food would be ready soon enough and that he wasn't going to starve today. Our breakfast, today, consisted of a pile of French toast covered in maple syrup with butter and bacon. Timcanpy had the same, but instead of maple syrup, he had more bacon.

After making some food for lunch and dinner that took up the majority of space in my backpack, I went to go take a shower and get dressed for school. The school uniform was pretty simple, according to Master; long, plain grey pants, white dress shirt – I liked to wear the long-sleeved version – and a black jumper with the school emblem on the left side of the chest. Other than that, I snatched the red ribbon from the side of my bed post to tie around my collar in a loose bow. It was only thing I had left of Mana….other than memories.

"….Mana…."

I didn't realise the name passed my lips until Tim whined from his place next to me, nudging my legs with his head, telling me to hurry up. Reaching down, I patted his head softly, thanking him for the push and headed for the door with him by my side.

Rolling up the sleeves of the dress shirt, I proceeded with cleaning the dishes and kitchen utensils before walking out of the room and grabbing my backpack, hiking it up onto one of my shoulders as well as the house keys. Quickly remembering Timcanpy's leash and collar, I twisted my body around to pluck it up from the metal shelf and fastening it on his neck to fit snuggly. Not too tight or too loose.

"Ready for your morning walk, Tim?" I asked quietly. The only response I got was another whine and a tug on the leash in my hand.

I laughed at his thin patience before unlocking the front door and heading out, hastily closing and locking it behind me before Timcanpy dragged me across the lawn and down the footpath before I got the chance.

"Alright, alright….! Calm down already…! I'm going, I'm going…!" I huffed, amazed at his enthusiasm at being let out. I mean, I let him out every day anyway. _Every. _Day_._

Sighing, I unclipped the leash from his collar as he pulled away and bounded down the footpath, frightening a few of the pedestrians in his way, leaving me to apologize for his behaviour. I sat down at the usual bench, waiting for his return after his exhausting work-out so I could take him back home and head to school.

_I wonder if I could take him to school with me…._

The thought passed my mind more than once that morning and I was seriously debating whether to take him with me or not. It would be a great help when getting around and he'd definitely love to be out of that empty house for once. I was just wary as to whether the school wouldn't allow it and make me kick him out as soon as he stepped foot into the building.

_They probably wouldn't though….seeing as how he is my 'guide dog'._

The thought stayed fresh in my mind as I let the warm rays from the sun fall on my face, heating up my skin. I closed my eyes in contentment as I let my head fall back on the bench. People were probably looking at me funny due to my hair and the scar on my face, but I couldn't see them so it didn't matter to me what they thought.

At least there was one good thing about not being able to see their expressions.

_Maybe I'll take him….. Maybe…._

A small smile creeped onto my face and I let out another sigh, this time one in tranquility. Today was such a nice day, I only wished I could see it with my own eyes… Perhaps today was going to be a good one. I sure hoped so.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Welcoming the Darkness**

_Chapter Two_

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I sat there for what seemed like more than hour before Tim decided to rush back. I heard his heavy breathing from a while away and braced myself for the impact. And sure enough, it came in less than a second. He had sprinted down the pathway, swerving past the bustling pedestrians – judging by the commotion he was making….again – and dived onto the bench I currently resided before placing his front paws on my right shoulder, pushing me off to the left.

"Wha–?!"

A startled yelp escaped my throat as I fell in a heap on the grass surrounding the bench. "Tim! Come on! What was that for?" I huffed, picking myself up and brushing any strands of grass off of my uniform. I definitely wouldn't want to walk into a school with grass smushed into my clothes, painting them a bright green hue.

"Aw, geez…" I huffed, straightening up before reached out to pat his soft head. He moved his head into the touch and nuzzled my hand with his wet nose before running his tongue across the outstretched digits, making me cringe from the feel of slobber coating them.

"Really? You didn't just– ugh, whatever. Are you done now?"

His head bowed in a curt nod, and I pulled the leash back into my hands from the small bag pocket, running my fingers along his neck to search for the right silver ring to slip it on. Finally finding the right one, I easily clipped it back on, tugging it a little to test the strength. As good as always. Murmuring a quick "come on", Tim happily trotted along by my side as we headed down the path to the school.

It was a good thing I lived close-by or else I would have gotten lost….multiple times. Like those times I did in the last school…. _I guess taking him won't be so bad, _I reasoned silently.

No, it wouldn't be bad at all….well, _maybe_. Who knows? If I _did _take him with me, it'd be a great help for me getting around places, but I'm guessing the school already knew about this and prepared beforehand. Obviously, they wouldn't let a blind student walk around without any means of safety.

_Maybe a student…?_ I wondered. Yeah, that sounded right. They'd probably have another student lead me around; it was the most likely option. As much as I hated other students knowing about my disability, I had to deal with the reality of it all. _Of course they'd find out….they would have to eventually._

Timcanpy's whine dragged me out of my thoughts and I stopped walking as not to choke him with the now taut leash. I opened my mouth to voice the question as to why but before I could utter a sound, he barked loudly and scraped his claws on the concrete, pulling me along.

I stumbled on a raised piece jutting out of the gaps in between the separate slabs of concrete and tripped forward on one foot, trying desperately to maintain my footing before I really fell face first. That would hurt, considerably so. It's happened too many times for me to count now, especially when I first had to deal with being blind. Tripping over things ever few steps was such a normal thing back then…. I'm so happy now that I have Timcanpy to guide me…well, most of the time. Speaking of which…

"T-Tim! Where are you taking me? Why are you in a rush? _You're going to make me fall if you keep this up!"_

I almost yelled that last bit when I stumbled yet again, hands flying out in front of me to collide painfully with the pathway, only to push off it and get dragged mercilessly by the golden Labrador. When all he did was huff irritably and keep pulling forward, I muttered under my breath about his sudden behaviour but let him guide me nonetheless. I didn't want to be stranded alone if he decided to leave without me.

After a few minutes of being hauled around by a massive dog that seemed to have never-ending energy, we ended up in front of the school, according to the loud chatter surrounding us. It was still early in the morning, but it turns out some students wanted to make it to school to meet up with fellow students.

Just when I figured Timcanpy was too tired to do anything more, he pulled away again, causing me to groan, allowing myself to be pulled once more. This was the last time, I swear to…to….I don't care who! And I was in luck. As soon as he hauled me over to where the chatter died down to a harmless buzz to my ears, he stopped and jerked the leash out of my hand.

"What the–? Tim?!" I heard him bark again. He sounded….happy? The next sound that reached my ears was a loud, surprised scream followed by someone laughing joyfully as Tm assaulted them with slobber-filled 'kisses'.

"Aw~ You're so adorable~ How are you~? You're so friendly, _awwwww_~!"

The man – whoever it was had a pretty high voice, but not high enough to be considered a female voice – gushed over the hyperactive dog I called mine while I stood trying to understand just why it was that Timcanpy dragged me _here _for. The moment my feet shifted against the sand, the happy voice stopped just as suddenly and made me jump a little.

"….You must be Allen Walker, correct? The new student?" The voice questioned lightly, a smile present in the tone as he spoke. He seemed friendly enough and Tim seemed to know him, so I gave him a sheepish smile.

"Y-Yes, I am. Who might you be? I'm sorry for my dog's….eccentric behaviour; this is the first time I've taken him with me to my school…." I trailed off, not exactly knowing if I should have mentioned that last part. What if they made me send him back home?

"Ahaha~ that's alright, he's a lovely little thing!" The word 'little' almost made me snort. Tim was definitely not 'little' in the slightest, but I kept my smile locked on, not trusting myself if I opened my mouth now. It'd be a bit rude to someone I just met. "My name is Komui Lee, the school principal of your new school. It's nice to finally meet you! I've heard you were indeed…blind," he sounded hesitant to mention that last bit but I didn't mind, "so I was about to contact you to discuss means of travel but it seems I didn't have to worry. You have quite the escort!"

That time I did laugh, but kept it a quiet chuckle. So this was the principal of the school? He seemed a lot more laid-back than the one at the previous school I attended at. "Yes, Timcanpy is a _very _good escort! Um," I started tentatively, not sure how to go about this, "well….does having him around, um, you know….?"

I must have looked a bit agitated as he sighed and walked up to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. It felt light and I relaxed a bit, not knowing just how tense I truly was just by meeting this person. I guess I still get like that around others.…

"Don't worry, he's fine to stay, I quite like him–" As if to agree, Tim huffed out softly, "See? He likes me too~" The man cooed and, from what I could hear, he was leaning back down to scratch under Tim's chin. Wow, this guy is like a child.

"Oh, that's great– Truthfully, I was little scared that he wouldn't be able to come in…"

"Not at all! I would never refuse this adorable little guy~ Oh, but I'll still going to have to assign you a helper– just for the first week or so to get you used to the school grounds, is that alight?"

"Yes, that's fine, really."

"Good! You're helper will be….let's see…" The man – Komui, I remembered it was – trailed off, probably thinking of who to suggest as the person to show me around the grounds. "Ah, I guess Chaojī would be alright, he's nice and friendly! I'm sure you'd get along quite well, you two!" He clapped his hands together before grabbing my hand and hauling me off somewhere.

_Oh great, another one to haul me away…._

In the end, it turned out he dragged me over to his office to inform me of some of my classes and handed me a small little box, full of CD's and stuff, along with headphones. Now, I'm guessing those were for my classes….or something. I glanced up to offer a sheepish smile to the person in front of me, not sure if I was even _looking _at him. He seemed to notice and give me a reassuring laugh, patting my head and ruffling in a little.

"Don't worry, that's for your classes! Each section is labelled with braille so you'll be able to tell what subject is what. Your helper is outside waiting to show you around, oh, and the Staff has been notified of your condition to make your transfer smoother. Whenever you're ready, you're free to go and explore the grounds, but don't forget school starts in half an hour!"

"Thank you again, Komui," I smiled brightly, happy that he went out of his way to prepare all this beforehand. All of this would certainly make my transfer a lot easier, not that I really needed it, but it was the thought that really mattered.

Komui just laughed a hearty laugh before gently nudging me towards the door, Timcanpy by my side again. I pet him on the head when he pushed his muzzle into my open palm, fraught for attention.

When I reached for the doorknob, the cold metal touched my skin for a fraction of a second before it was opened and the feeling was gone. "Oh, s-sorry! I was just wondering w-when you'd get here, oh, um, h-hello….! My name is Ch-Chaojī, n-nice to meet you…!" The person who opened the door stammered, likely flustered as he introduced himself judging from the way he stammered every once in a while.

All the while, I smiled warmly and offered my own name, introducing Timcanpy while I was at it. Chaojī seemed pretty awkward at first, but after the initial greeting, we got along quite well. Walking around the school grounds and guiding me, he described most of the areas while I listened, content to just heed to the sounds around me.

After a bit of walking around, he decided we should head on back to the west buildings were our first classes resided. Between the two of us, almost all of our classes were different, but he insisted he show me each classroom. Even though they had braille all around the school for the blind students to follow, I smiled and nodded in understanding when he sounded once again flustered, explaining how I might get lost.

_Oh, how right you are…. I might just get lost in this school sooner or later…. _I grinned, closing my eyes as I leaned slightly against Tim as he trotted on my right side, Chaojī on my left.

Making it to the classroom for Chemistry, albeit a handful of minutes early, I bid Chaojī farewell for the next fifty minutes or so as I stood outside the closed door. I heard some of the people who passed whisper comments about me, how a 'kid with crazy hair brought a huge mutt to school'.

Relaxing a bit, I turned down to Timcanpy to give him a nervous grin, "You ready for your first class, Tim?" The golden Labrador craned his neck upward and nuzzled my hand, whining slightly as he licked my fingers for the second time that day.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," I sighed, raising my hand to the handle. I gripped it, exhaled, and then turned the handle. I was certain I'd get those 'stares' again, the ones I felt piercing into the back of my head despite my lack of sight, due to my unnatural hair colour, and the scar running down the left side of my face.

"Let's do this…" Beside me, Tim gave a confident 'woof' in agreement. I turned the handle once and for all and braced myself as the chatter in the class died down into heated whispers. _What a way to start the day…._ I mentally groaned, stepping into the room with people I couldn't – and highly likely – wouldn't _ever_ see.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Welcoming the Darkness**

_Chapter Three_

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As soon as I heard the door open, I slowly allowed my gaze to drift from the open crack of the window to the door at the far end of the classroom, furthest away from me. I sat in the back right corner, closest to the window and furthest from the front of the class so I could feel the refreshing breeze on my face. I've always loved the wind, the way it would gently caress your face and brush against your hair, ruffling it slightly.

That's why I also loved to do gymnastics. The feeling of the wind was always there as you glide across the mat, performing intricate movements, creating a beautiful flow that captivates most onlookers. The best part of it all is the unbelievable feeling you get when you jump through the air, like a butterfly dancing in the wind.

Quietly tapping the balls of my feet and heels against the tilted floor of the Chemistry room connected to the compact lab behind it by a mere glass door, I hummed a light tone, leisurely glancing at the open door when all of the loud chatter died away to heated whispers.

_I wonder what's so interesting that they need to whisper about…like…..that…...oh._

My eyes locked on the mop of white hair that poked its way from behind the door. _Oh, he's… _Any of the thoughts I was having was pleasantly pushed aside as I caught sight of something big….and _yellow_, making its way into the room by the boy's side.

"Oh, it's a dog…!" I mumbled to myself happily, smiling slightly as the dog glanced in my general direction, "How cute~"

As if responding to my praise, the dog barked and waggled its beautifully golden tail, mouth open and panting, eyes bright and active as they moved to gaze at my own. I was amazed he could even hear my voice from that far away, guess it's a dog's excellent hearing acting up. Just as the white-haired boy whispered something to the dog, it stopped all motion and raised its head upward, nudging his hand and nibbling it while walking to the right. I took it he was leading him to an empty desk.

The sharp stares of the people around me put me on edge. I didn't get why they always judged people on their looks, especially looks that the new kid seemed to have a lot of. And I meant _a lot._ I wasn't even the one they were looking at with those gazes but it still felt as piercing and unkind as if they were.

It just didn't feel right.

I was about to get up to go talk to him but the bell went and I reluctantly took my seat once more, curiously watching the new addition to the class and hoping he wasn't about to be the target of something as foolish as bullying. He was definitely 'unique' and, although my brother already told me about him beforehand – though not enough in my opinion – it made me want to get to know him better.

Just then, our Chemistry teacher, Mr Wenhamm, walked in and ushered the boy to the front of the class for the usual introduction before he even made it to the front row of desks. Honestly, our teacher didn't look the least bit surprised with his appearance and I only guessed brother informed him too.

"Okay everyone, be quiet now and take your seats," the teacher announced in the usual exhausted tone, "This is Allen Walker, the new student. Be nice and don't do anything stupid or I'll send you to the principal. Alright then…."

Taking a few small steps towards the boy – _Allen was his name, _I remembered _–_ Mr Wenhamm put his hand on his shoulder making the white-haired teen jump slightly from the contact. Next, our Chemistry teacher asked the boy something, who was – in fact – staring out the window. He shook his head in the negative, offering a warm smile and pat the cute dog on the head. I saw Mr Wenhamm give him an anxious look before sighing, running a hand through his hair for the fifth time that day, and muttered something else to the boy.

_His dog is cute….I wonder what breed it is. It definitely looks like a mix between dog and bear… _I thought absentmindedly, watching as the massive dog brushed against his side a few steps ahead of him, but not enough to be out of immediate reach.

When he moved next to me to sit in the desk to my right, I was pleasantly surprised to realise he would sitting beside me rather than with the other students who gave him odd glances. Of course, with his peculiar appearances, I'm sure most people would find him….a bit on the _weird _side. I didn't mind though. Appearances never really mattered to me before, so why should they now?

"Hi, my name's Lenalee! It's nice to meet you Allen!" I smiled cheerily, turning to him in my seat. At first, he looked startled but then relaxed when his large dog whined and sat down at his feet, looking at me. "What a cute dog, what breed is he?"

"It is nice to meet you too, Lenalee," he smiled back, resting a creamy-coloured hand on his dog's head, "This is Timcanpy, he's a golden Labrador, not retriever like most people take him for. Timcanpy, be nice…"

Timcanpy, as I newly found out, whimpered and shuffled his front paws on the tiles. He looked absolutely adorable and I couldn't help but giggle a little at his behaviour. It certainly reminded me of a particular redhead I knew.

"I'm sure he's wonderful, Allen!" I giggled, the smile never leaving my face, "Would you like to be friends, Allen? I mean– only if you'd like, um, so–" My face flushed in embarrassment at the bluntness of my tone and I didn't quite know how to bring up that subject until I suddenly blurted it out. How could I just– And he had only been in my presence less than five minutes! I must have sounded–

"I'd like that, if…you don't mind me at all," he grinned sheepishly, "I've never really had many….'friends'…before, uh, this…."

"Oh, no, I– Of course I don't mind!" I was beyond happy at that point, clasping my hands together, grinning widely at him and completely tuning out the lesson now in progress. "Oh! That reminds me! At lunch break, I need to introduce you to two more people, they might seem a bit odd at first, but they're actually really nice! I'm sure you'd like them!"

The white-haired boy looked surprised beyond words as his gray orbs widened. I guess what he said about not having many friends was true as the bridge of his nose gained a light pink tinge to it. "Th-Thank you, that'd be…great," he breathed out softly, titling his head down and obscuring his face still pink face with his bangs.

I wanted to ask him if it was true that he was completely blind, or if it was from birth or some sort of accident, but I didn't know how to find a way to put it nicely without striking a nerve. His unfocused eyes told me so much already, as well as how he refused to look at me in the eyes, either because he couldn't or because he thought it'd give it away. I didn't mind, not one bit. After all, one of my best friend's brothers was blind.

Before I got another chance to ask him a few questions, Mr Wenhamm spotted me slacking off and called on me to read a part of the textbook I didn't have open. Quickly snatching it from inside my zipped-open backpack on the floor next to me when he looked away to scold another kid up front, I flipped to the right page and began reading.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Allen pull a weird black box with bumps and dashes on the top. Was that…braille…? I noticed my reading was starting to slow down, so I focused back on the textbook, only to have my eyes drift back to the box.

_I wonder what's in it…._

As if to answer my silent prayers, he popped open the box and there lay a compact CD player along with black headphones and a pile of mini disks. He propped the box in the far corner of his desk as not to accidently bump it, lifting a light blue tinted disc out of pile after sweeping his fingers across the bumps of braille, inserting it into the CD player.

_Oh? So what brother said was right… It's a good thing I sorted out those files and discs this morning…_

Once the disc was accepted, it made a small 'beep' noise and he plugged in the headphones. Next he closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands, elbows propped up on the smooth surface of the desk. Timcanpy yawned, showing off his sharp canines before glancing at me one more time and resting his own head on his paws, lying down across Allen's feet under the table and out of the way of other students.

I watched him from my peripheral vision for the rest of the time I was reading aloud until Mr Wenhamm told me it was enough and that I could stop. Whatever he was listening to was most likely the audio lessons from our textbooks as I couldn't think of anything else he could possibly be listening to in class without getting in trouble.

Although…even though he was alone and people gave him icy stares, he looked content – relaxed almost – that he was even here. Or maybe I wasn't seeing past that happy smile he put up…. Below me, Timcanpy whined in his sleep, his tail thumping dully on the cold floor.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Welcoming the Darkness**

_Chapter Four_

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A loud blaring of the school bell snapped me out of my peaceful state and I winced when someone brushed past me, bumping me crudely against the shoulder. Well, that _was _to be expected, seeing as how I was the 'new kid' and I definitely did not look 'normal'. Sighing, I plucked the headphones off of my head and ran a hand through my hair. Man, today was long…..and it only just _started_.

"Allen, are you alright?"

A soft voice alerted me to the presence of another person to my left. Ah, it was Lenalee. The first person to actually 'talk' to me today that was another student.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine, why do you ask?"

I offered her a polite smile, my eyes still closed so she didn't feel uncomfortable if I stared straight at her with my dull, gray eyes. She sounded quite concerned…or maybe that was pity? I couldn't really tell without looking…_if_ she's that good at controlling her emotions. Probably not, seeing as how she acts around others.

Ugh, I hate pity.

People would always befriend others because of that. They thought they were so much better than the person they pitied, but obviously, that friendship shouldn't even be called such. How idiotic…. But Lenalee didn't sound like the type for that. I hoped she wasn't.

"I– Uh– No, nothing," she faltered.

I wonder what she looked like, if she was as pretty as she sounded, as genuine as she acted. Before she could ask anything else, I hurriedly packed my things and nudged Tim awake at my feet. I also wondered whether she found out I was blind with just the first sentence I spoke. It'd sure explain why I brought a dog to school at least.

He gave a soft grunt at being roused; stumbling slightly as he jumped to his feet, nails tapping lightly on the tiles. Getting up from my seat, I heard Lenalee rise from her own seat as well. She didn't move until I did, and even then, she trailed behind me quietly without a word.

_What is she….?_

As if reading my thoughts, she asked me a simple question that answered my own.

"What subject do you have now, Allen?"

Stopping, I reached up to tap at my chin, thinking back to what Komui told me my classes were for the day. He said that the rest of the cycle would be e-mailed to me in audio form so I could check at home for the following day's classes.

"Ah, right!" I exclaimed all of a sudden, remembering my subject for second period, "I have Visual Arts now. It was the one subject I was freely able to choose due to an excess of units in my timetable."

"Hmm….I have Visual Arts too, who's your teacher?"

"I'm more or less positive it was Tiedoll," I replied, sifting through my memories for the right name. I was sure that was it.

"Great! That means we're in the same class again!" The smile evident in her tone as she clasped her hands together again in a happy gesture. Without another word, her hand shot out to grip my right wrist and drag me in the direction opposite to where I was intending to head. "Class is this way Allen, I'll take you!"

"Wah? But–"

Today everyone seemed to love lugging me around. Even as I let her drag me away, I wondered if Chaojī would show up at the now empty classroom looking for me. Ehh….well, I could always explain and apologise to him later. At least she's showing me to the classroom…and knows where she's going.

The rest of the day went by rather smoothly, except for the occasional trip or shove wherever I went. Timcanpy seemed to notice most of them before it happened and growled at the students before they even got close but other than that, it happened….quite a lot actually. For every trip or shove, Lenalee would apologise endlessly and threaten them with the 'my brother is the principal' line.

As the bell went for the fourth period, Lenalee jumped up from her seat next to mine, bouncing on her feet like she couldn't wait to get out. Not that I wasn't. I was happy to get away from all these people giving me those _stares_. I sure could _feel _it if I couldn't _see _it.

_She's pretty light on her feet….I'd hardly be able to hear her if it weren't for the heels._

I also didn't hear her when she shot out of her seat, snatched my wrist once more, carting me out of the classroom and sped down the hallways.

"L-Lenalee? Where are we going?" I asked hesitantly. She halted all motions before whipping her head around, her hair brushing against my cheeks. I was guessing it was quite long if it could do that.

"Don't you remember? I'm going to introduce you to my other friends!" She seemed to notice how tense I was and giggled a little, "Don't worry, it's only two people, and they're my childhood friends so I know they'll be happy to meet you too!"

"If you say so…." I muttered under my breath. _Let's just hope they're as friendly as you say they are._

She pulled me down a few corridors full of chatting teens exiting their latest class, eager to found their own groups for the lunch break. I could still hear some of the students whisper amongst themselves about me. By my side, Timcanpy sniffled, trotting happily while nipping the back of my legs and heels in an impatient gesture, probably just as eager to meet these 'friends' of her's.

"Almost there…." She murmured to herself, her grip on my wrist loosening, "You must be hungry, Allen. Did you bring your own food?"

It was then that I remembered just how hungry I was during class and my stomach seemed to realise this as well, as it let out a monstrous growl, demanding I fill it with something edible. Lenalee's feet stopped momentarily once more and I could only assume she was staring at me wide-eyed. Sheepishly bringing my free hand up to scratch the back of my neck, I could feel heat rising to my cheeks and spreading along.

"A-Ah….y-yeah, I did. I guess I just didn't realise how hungry I was until you mentioned…it….heh," I replied, still not sure what expression she was making.

Her silence was starting to unnerve me and I squirmed slightly in her grasp. I heard her inhale in a hushed tone and she let go of my wrist, apologising with a flustered tone. She likely noticed my anxious shifting. "S-Sorry for staring, I was just a little…stunned? No, wait…um…."

I raised my hand to stop her, a smile adorning my face, "Don't worry about it, somehow or other, my eating habits surprise most people. Actually, I'd be amazed if you weren't the least bit surprised!" A sigh of relief passed her lips and she giggled.

_Ah, now that I think about it…_ "Lenalee, um, where are we?" She jumped straight up and clasped my hands in her own. I could practically feel the excitement pouring out of her as she kept jumping around on the spot.

"We're at the cafeteria~! It's time to eat, is it not? And what better place than the school cafeteria! Especially since Jerry, here – he's the head chef – cooks everything and anything to the best of his ability! Ask anyone, he's absolutely amazing at what he does! That is why I was wondering if you brought lunch. Next time, try out his cooking!" The Chinese girl beamed, her hair swishing around as I felt it graze my cheek again.

"I look forward to meeting him…" I smiled.

Inwardly, I wondered again what Lenalee looked like. From what I've gathered, she's around my height – her voice is close when she speaks, so I can only assume she is my height, or possibly a bit taller – and her hair is long enough to whip around when she moves – so about….waist-length…maybe.

Her hands soon disappeared from mine and I briefly wondered where she went, only for her hands to return as she tugged me over towards more chattering voices. The wonderful smell of food hit my nose and my mouth watered. _Man, I'm hungry…. _Lenalee stopped behind a few noisy students – which I presumed was in a line as she told me we'd have to wait a little while – and started telling me about her friends.

Apparently, the two of them were almost complete opposites and often got into childish fights over the stupidest things, courtesy of the redhead who acted like a five-year old. Lenalee spoke of the redhead rather fondling and I couldn't help questioning if she liked him in any way other than just a 'friend'. When I asked, she choked on her own words and coughed madly. Once she stopped her coughing fit, she stammered and tried – rather hastily – to change the subject.

The other, she said, was her other childhood friend from before she met the redhead, and that he was _very _easily irritated. Lenalee warned me about his distaste of people addressing him by his first name and that I should do the same by using his last name. Other than that, she mentioned something to do with a sword he always seemed to have around. It was precious to him and when it came about to explaining 'why', she couldn't quite say so. I brushed it aside when it came to our turn to order.

_Wait…do I have to pay for this….? But, I don't have any money right now! _I panicked. My hands subconsciously roamed down to my pockets but a soft hand grabbed mine in a tender hold.

"Allen," oh, it was Lenalee, "Don't worry about payment! My brother's got it covered for you; I found the papers on his desk when I was sorting through them a few days ago."

"O-Oh? What? But–" I didn't understand, why would someone do that? That's insane! Especially so if they knew of the amount I could easily consume. By easily, I meant exceptionally _easily._

Lenalee smiled and tightened her grip only to loosen it just as fast in a firm squeeze. "I'm just as surprised as you are. Turns out Komui Nii-san likes to spoil the people he likes! And here they are convinced it's only me…._ I'm just the one who gets smothered a little _too _much…._" The last bit she mumbled darkly, low enough that I only _just _heard it over the loud chatter around us.

"U-Um…Lenalee…?" When she didn't reply, I sighed, "Maybe we should order before the rest of the line gets held up?" I suggested weakly, not entirely sure if she was still off in her own little world.

"Huh? Oh, right. Order anything you like, Allen!" She beamed, only now realising their long conversation was getting on the nerves of the people waiting behind us.

I already had lunch prepared but from what Lenalee said about the food here, I _really _wanted to try his cooking. Noticing my fidgeting, she clamped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it softly, telling me to 'calm the heck down' without the words. It _did_ work.

"I'll just have the usual, Jerry-san! Allen…?"

"Eh? Oh, I'll have, um, three of everything….and if you can, mitarashi dango, twenty of them."

An awkward silence followed before the chef laughed and asked if I could finish it all. Of course, I replied with an enthusiastic "yes". I mean, that was only a tiny portion of what I _could _eat. But, I wouldn't want to order that much when I brought my own food anyway.

We stood to the side as we waited for the food to arrive, speaking about nonsensical things and how school usually was at this time of the year. Every so often, I'd catch bits and pieces of other's conversations that seemed to have me as the subject.

_Great….just great._

"Oh, our food is ready, Allen!"

And I could feel her tugging at my wrist again, loosely this time as to not spill any of the contents of the plates in my hands.

Walking, or jogging, over to the last available seats in the room – according to the loud screams and cursing coming from the place we were currently heading – Lenalee just laughed and waved to someone before telling me one name.

Lavi.

That was the name of her friend….the….red-headed one? Yeah, I'm fairly sure he was the one. Nodding to my own answer, I almost tripped over when I bumped into Timcanpy's side, earning me a loud whine of protest in response. Muttering an apology, I waited for Lenalee to inform me of any instructions or whatnot.

..

..

"Lavi! Thanks for saving us a spot!" Lenalee chirped happily, pulling along the younger teen, as well as holding two plates with the other hand.

Glancing up from the hordes of female and male students alike, Lavi shot a quick peek over his left shoulder. As soon as his single emerald eye spotted familiar olive-coloured hair, a huge grin spread across his face. "Lenalee~ Well, this _is _our usual table! How are you– oh, hey, who's the new kid?"

"This is Allen; he's the person I was telling you about a few days ago. Don't you remember?" She asked with a small frown, her ears picking up a whine from behind her. Lenalee didn't need to turn around to realise the sound came from Allen's guide dog.

"Oh~ that one! Yeah, I remember now!"

Grinning wider, he directed his gaze at Allen, noticing instantly how his silver eyes seemed foggy and out of focus. _Hmm? That's unusual….oh well. _Skipping back from the groups of screaming girls that tried to grab for him – he was pretty popular with the girls – the redhead sauntered over to the waiting pair without a word, only to sling an arm around the younger's shoulders suddenly, eliciting a small squeak of surprise as well as the tensing of his shoulders.

"Yo! My name's Lavi, just Lavi! What's yours, little man?" Leaning down a bit, he came face-to-face with the other to examine his reaction on a closer scale.

_Wow, this guy is tall…_ Allen noted internally, turning his neck sideways to glance up at where he heard the energetic voice coming from with a sheepish smile,"My name is Allen, Allen Walker. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Lavi."

"Walker, huh? Yep~ nice to meet ya too!" If it was possible, his grin stretched wider until it encompassed the majority of his face. He was slinking back over to his plate of sandwiches before he suddenly stopped and spun around, his one emerald eye sparkling. "Lenalee…"

Giving the other a questionable look, Lenalee sat down at the table, sliding Allen down next to her as Tim took a place on the other side of him for protection. Lavi followed and sat down opposite Lenalee and diagonal to the other teen.

"Do you know where Yuu is today? I haven't seen him at all!" Raising a finger to his chin, he tapped it and pouted. "And I think he skipped last period yesterday too~ I didn't see him~"

"Kanda? I thought he was with you this whole time?" the Chinese girl stated. At the same time, she whipped out her phone and pressed a few buttons. "I sent him a text, he'll probably reply soon so–"

She never finished her sentence due to her attention being dragged from the redhead across her to her right. And it was certainly a sight to behold. More than twelve plates were devoured in the time they had started talking at the table by no other than the small blind teen sitting at their table. And if you looked past him, you'd be able to see Timcanpy nibbling leisurely at a large sub beside him, tail wagging nonstop.

No one dared say anything as to disturb the rate at which he ate, only giving small faces every time they saw him pick something resembling a sandwich and _inhaling _it without seeming like he even chewed it before swallowing.

"Whoa….you sure know how to eat," Lavi muttered, amazed. He really had no idea what to say. If he heard about the kid's eating habits he probably would have laughed it off, but _seeing _it was….something else entirely.

Pausing halfway, mouth open and sandwich ready to be popped in, Allen quickly shut his mouth and flushed a bright red in embarrassment. "Oh, uh, yeah….I eat…a lot," was all that came out in a mumbled mess. Tim just continued to eat, not paying any attention to the trio at the table.

"That's–"

Lenalee started, only to be interrupted yet again by a faint bell noise. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone, swiping across the screen to unlock it. A few seconds of silence followed until she huffed and pouted at the phone, her nails tapping across the screen as she typed a short reply back.

"Aww~ turns out Kanda won't be at school for a while since he's moving out of Tiedoll's place it seems. Actually, that also explains why Tiedoll wasn't here today…."

"Really?" Lavi asked with a raised brow – not that you could tell with the other being covered by an eye patch. "Well, Yuu did say he wanted to leave that place. I just didn't know he'd be doing it so soon."

"Mm."

Noticing Allen's fidgeting after finishing his food – how he kept it all in his small body, she'll never know – Lenalee smiled kindly, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Kanda was the other person I wanted to introduce you to, but it seems he's rather busy at the moment. Don't worry; I'll introduce you some other day. Anyway, Lavi didn't explain much before."

"Bleh," he stuck his tongue out childishly at her, only for the Chinese girl to do the same, causing his grin to flip back on.

"He's a third year, so he's on his last here. Ah, Kanda is the same as Lavi. They're in the same classes most of the time," she explained neatly waiting for any questions from her new friend.

"That makes sense," was all that came.

The rest of the lunch break consisted of them – Lavi and Lenalee – eating their own food at a relatively normal pace – while they talked about this and that, not paying attention to their surroundings until they were the only ones left in the cafeteria, others having left some time ago.

Finally realising the time, Lenalee pushed herself up from the table and ushered Allen along as well. All the while, Lavi laughed at her rushed actions. For only fifteen minutes late to the second last class, she sure was in a rush.

"Lavi, stop laughing– and you should go to your own class too!" She scolded him lightly; pointing an accusing finger at him from her spot across the table, watching him rise out of his seat to rest his head back into his weaved hands behind.

"No way~ It's not that bad, you're only fifteen minutes late! That's hardly anything–"

"_Lavi!"_

"Fine, fine, I'm going!" As if to make his point, he walked away slowly, never breaking eye-contact with the other until he had to turn a corner. Just before he did, he gave her his usual puppy-dog eyes that worked even on the worst teachers.

"_Lavi."_

Grumbling in defeat, he trudged over to his own classroom at the other end of the school.

Sighing, Lenalee made to turn around, just as Lavi's loud voice rounded the corner.

"Oh and I forgot to say...! Welcome to Rose Cross Academy, try not to die within the first month. If you survive that long, you're officially one of us~ Good luck, little man!" And with that, he _finally _sped off.

Lenalee tried not to slap herself on the forehead in exasperation. _Typical Lavi behaviour… _she told herself over and over, setting herself the task of leading Allen to their double period class of mathematics for the day.

The first day and he was already late for one class.

..

..


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcoming the Darkness**

_Chapter Five_

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..

_A/N: Just been in a slump is all. It might be reflected in this, with any luck it isn't. Sorry. I'll try to update more now that exam time is half-way through. How many people read this anyway? Five or something? And somewhere along the way I stuck to third person. Should I make it first person again?_

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..

The day ended fairly quickly for the two of them after that unfortunate event during the start of the fifth period, but they got away without a detention due to Allen being new to the school. Too bad that didn't save them from an earful of lectures on getting to class on time. Although Mr Andrews wasn't as strict as others, he still tried his best to not be as lenient as certain teachers like Mr Gill.

"Ugh, I hate maths….!" Allen groaned, stretching out across his table, mindful of the black box he placed at the top-right corner.

A short chuckle came from beside him and he turned his head to take a glance even though he couldn't really see her, his hair falling to brush against his cheeks. When the laughter stopped a gentle hand made its way to his hair and patted him on the head shortly. He closed his eyes and listened to the teacher explain another question he didn't quite understand, forgetting about the hand atop his head as it played absently with his hair.

"That's what everyone says at the beginning," Lenalee sighed with a smile, watching the white-haired teen close his eyes and relax slightly against the flat surface of his desk. Bored, she began to twirl the white locks around her fingers, releasing them, and then running a hand through his hair. It was so soft she began the process over and over again. "He's not a mean teacher, but he doesn't particularly enjoy people being late or skipping his classes."

"Still….maths," he muttered. It wasn't that he actually hated the subject; he just hated having to learn it in this way. Usually his studies were above average and he could easily absorb the teachings, but recently his lack of material for just that has decreased his attention span for learning.

"Ahaha, don't worry; you'll get used to this level of maths soon enough. When one has to do it every day and night, you learn quite a bit on how to solve the questions quickly." She muttered with a blank expression. Glancing at the clock, Lenalee noted there was only a couple of minutes left and helped Allen pack up while she scribbled the last few notes into her notebook that were printed on the board in fine writing. "Classes finish in two minutes. If you're getting a bus home you should probably try to get down there as fast as you can."

"Huh?" Turning his head subconsciously, he faced her, silver eyes now peering at her unseeingly for a second time. "Why would that be? But no, I can walk from here, my house is close enough." _Well, not really _my _house._

"Oh, well, on days like these…" she tried to find a better word to describe the certain days students would go manic for the buses but failed and gave up altogether, "things get a little heated and people fight for spots on the buses since they have some stuff after school, or they just feel like it, such soccer games or whatnot. Most of the time they push and shove to get on, though I've never seen anyone trampled so I guess it's not as bad as it _could_ be."

"Wow, that's crazy… Good thing I don't have to take a bus," Allen said while lifting his body off the table and brushing his clothes off, nudging Timcanpy who was napping underneath his table, again. Huffing, he nipped at the boy's pant legs as payback for the rude awakening and stretched his own body out for getting ready to leave.

Lenalee scratched behind Tim's ear when he sat beside her, resting his head in her lap. "Mm, you're right, you're lucky for that."

"Oh how I wish that was true…"

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing much," he replied, standing up once the teacher dismissed them with a wave of the hand.

Everyone rushed to be first out, meeting with their friends that decided to wait outside the room after being let out earlier. Chatter filled the halls as people shouted and pushed past others for the stairs located at the end of the corridor.

Looking out of the window of the fourth floor, Lenalee saw students flooding out of the front and side gates, also spotting a very obvious head of red hair. Smiling to herself, she spun around to face Allen, pulling him aside as not to get squished by the horde of teens barging down the hallway. Really, the school worries more about nonsensical things than how their students behave. Somehow that's not very surprising.

"I'm going to be getting the bus with Lavi today to go to a new bookstore that opened up, would you like to come along?" She asked politely, petting Timcanpy when he whined against her leg, nuzzling and prodding insistently for attention.

"No, that's alright," _I wouldn't want to be between you two… _He refused quickly, trying not to seem suspicious in wanting them to be together alone. It was more than obvious that those two had _something_ for the other.

Lenalee took on a crestfallen expression that she knew he wouldn't see but her voice would tell it all. "Oh…but I really wanted to hang out with you and get to know you more…"

Eyes widening at her saddened tone, Allen hastily raised his hands and flailed them around hopelessly, clearly flustered on what to do. "I– I'm just busy today. A–Anyway, it's only the first day! You have a _long_ time to get to know me!"

"…I guess so…" She sighed and watched out of the corner of her eye to see his reaction to her words. When she saw him open and close his mouth in hesitation, and then agreed on closed, she decided to end her charade before she put him in a tough spot.

Like he wasn't already.

"No it's okay; you don't have to if you're busy. You're right, I have plenty of time! I can just go with Lavi–" she paused at his name, her face unconsciously feeling hotter.

Hearing her trail off, Allen chuckled lightly, tapping her on the shoulder while a smile. "If you're going to go with Lavi, you might be running late, don't you think?" He asked, motioning to the window to his left that was left open, leaving him to feel the soft breeze.

Snapping out of it, Lenalee jumped to the window, pressing her hands and forehead to it in search of the redhead to make sure he hadn't left without her. Sure enough, he was waiting down at the buses with a group of girls circling around him. Backing away from them, he snuck a glance at the window she was at and grinned, waving like a maniac once they locked gazes. Waving back, she took a step back and pressed her cool palms to her warming cheeks.

"I should be going then! Bye Allen! See you tomorrow, okay?" She called over her shoulder, grabbing her bag and running hurriedly for the stairs, almost flying down them in her rush.

"Sure, bye!"

He waved after her, only letting it fall once the sound of her footsteps became faint. Looking down at Timcanpy who managed to squirm his way under his hand, Allen tapped his muzzle and grinned at him. "Do you think she'll be fine?" A small bark answered his question and he nodded silently. "Well then, let's head home too."

..

..

Walking down the footpath with Timcanpy pretty much glued to his side, Allen relished the calm autumn breeze that brushed against his face and glided off to rustle his hair. It was a nice change from the usual heat of summer, especially since this year seemed to be hotter than the last. Usually he wasn't one to complain about such things as the weather – those he could deal with – but as the years go by, it only gets a lot more unpredictable.

The rhythmic clicking of Timcanpy's nails against concrete was a familiar sound to the white-haired teen, lulling him into a mellow state where he closed his unseeing eyes and walked in time to the clicks and pauses. That seemed to be a habit of his, probably because he enjoyed listening to piano pieces. Those too, appeased him.

Timcanpy's whines broke through the silence, faintly at first, but turned into loud, drawn out squeals once he paid attention. "Huh," stopping, Allen felt the tug of fur against his loose hold, "What is it Tim?" Another strained whine greeted him, confusing the teen more.

"Timcanpy, what is it?" Leaning down, Allen loosened his hold enough for the brightly-furred dog to dart out of his grasp, leaving him gaping and alone. "Wai– Tim!?"

Clutching at the air around him produced nothing with luscious fur, alerting him to just how badly Timcanpy wanted to run after something, or someone. Standing there, alone, Allen debated internally whether to attempt to go after him or just wait for Timcanpy to get bored with whatever he ran after and come back.

Yeah, he was going to go with finding him himself. The probability of Timcanpy coming back by himself within the next ten minutes was less than likely.

"Ah, hmmm…okay, so I guess I'll just…follow after him? It can't be that hard…" While Allen shuffled over towards the building of a wall close by, albeit tripping once or twice along the way, he slumped back against it and sighed. _Man, this day is a long one…_

Somewhere down the road, Timcanpy skid down the footpath, knocking into as many pedestrians as he possibly could before reaching his intended destination, probably thinking of it as being a game of some sort. Bumping head first into the legs of his waiting target, the action elicited a loud curse and an angered growl; catching the person unguarded enough to make him buckle his legs on the spot before straightening back out.

"_Fuck!_ What the hell?!"

Snapping his head around, the person came face-to-face with nothing, only to look down and see two large eyes staring up at him, the dog's mouth open in a happy grin with his tongue lolling out, slobber threatening to fall over the pavement. He was sorely tempted to kick the damn mutt for even thinking of annoying him, but shot down that idea once he realised some moron forgot to put a collar on the stupid animal. And if he did kick the dog, people would probably start shrieking at him. Stupid people.

"Goddamn Daisya, taking so long… What do you want mutt."

Unknown to the person he knocked into, Timcanpy was in fact extremely happy he found that other guy the friendly human who talked with Allen mentioned just by his smell alone. When the trio were talking before, Tim sniffed out scents of the new people around his owner for more familiarity. It was an odd thing to do, but it worked for Timcanpy.

Gazing at the man with long raven-blue hair, he opened his mouth and huffed enthusiastically, trying to tell the person to play without any words – not that he could speak anyway.

More panting ensued, ticking Kanda off further. Kneeling down, he ground a fist into the top of the dog's large head, finally earning a small whine as the dog closed his eyes and mouth. The smirk he wore was only for a second until Timcanpy lunged forward and snapped his jaw closed around long midnight-coloured strands, tugging playfully as his tail wagged furiously.

"Damn it you little– Let go!" he glared at the overly happy dog as it pulled him along by his hair a few inches. "What the hell do you _want. _Leave me alone already."

Unfortunately for him, Timcanpy wouldn't listen and tugged more insistently on his hair. Finally relenting – rather than hitting or kicking the large dog – he placed his hands against the dog's muzzle, one on the top and one on his lower jaw, and yanked. Hard. Once the dog's mouth was opened, he jerked his head back, dragging along with it, his now slobber-coated hair.

Taking it into his hand, he inspected the damage before setting his glare on the dog whose tail was still wagging nonstop. Timcanpy was enjoying this too much. He had someone to play with and that fact alone was enough to keep him in a pleasant mood – too bad that wasn't as much of an advantage to Kanda.

"If I had Mugen with me, I'd skin you alive for this mutt."

Opening his mouth to relay another message, he was interrupted when he spotted an old man shuffle straight into a bench, sending him toppling over. Luckily for the moron that fell over, there was hardly anyone on the streets anymore for him to trip over as well. But then he heard the person apologise right to the friggin' bench.

A bench…

He apologised to a goddamn _bench_.

"Has this old man actually lost his marbles?" he questioned to no one in particular, a bored and unimpressed expression on his face. Timcanpy offered a pleased huff, like he already knew this was going to happen.

Hearing a small puff that sounded a lot like Timcanpy, Allen glanced in that general direction and heaved himself up, hand on the ground to steady him. Once he was on his feet – and not going to topple over the second he got up – the young teen set out for the sound.

At first, he wobbled without any railings or wall to stabilise himself, worried he'd trip again. Sticking an arm out, Allen waved it around in hopes of finding where he currently was. And where Timcanpy was. _Argh…was that cat–_ _bird–_ _whatever! Was it really that important he needed to ditch me for it? _He complained inwardly, wincing when his hand hit something hard. "Ow– sorry…" he muttered again.

All the while, Kanda just watched with less than mild curiosity, not noticing Timcanpy's ears and tail perk up then still. Movement in his peripheral vision brought Kanda's attention back to the dog that decided it had had enough of the old man's nonsense and trotted up to him happily. Finally remembering why he was here, Kanda growled and pulled himself up to go wait by the telephone pole for his peculiar brother. Again. He hated the fact he had to meet up with him once more after _finally_ getting rid of him.

Weaving about Allen's legs, Timcanpy paused to notice his forgotten collar on the ground nearby. Racing over, he picked it up in his mouth and ran back, weaving through Allen's legs over and over, almost making him trip over.

"T–Tim!? Where did you go, Timcanpy? That was dangerous," he reprimanded his large dog, hearing a small grunt and whine.

Following Timcanpy's lead, he walked side by side with the dog, not noticing he was being led straight into another person until it was too late. He fell backwards and onto his bottom with a soft "oof". The person he knocked into snapped at him irritably.

"What is it with you fucking idiots and knocking into to people!?" Kanda growled before storming off and away from the scene.

"Ouch. Damnit Tim, you did that on purpose…" Allen frowned, climbing the wall back up, not trusting his guide dog to actually 'guide' him anymore.

Attempting to curb his anger, Kanda gritted his teeth and glared at anyone who so much as looked at him. Not like he didn't do that anyway. Waiting for his dumbass 'brother' – as his adoptive 'father' liked to put it – was getting on his nerves, especially when he was supposed to have arrived _half an hour ago. _Turning back around, his cobalt eyes landed on that head of white hair and his dissipating anger quickly rose again.

_Fucking_– _Wait….is that… That person isn't an old man, he's a freaking kid!_

Staring at the stumbling kid latching onto the wall as he muttered complaints to his guide dog, Kanda was about to just ignore the two of them until he heard a large impact of skin on metal. A metal pole that is. As Allen got up, rubbing his red face and throbbing nose from the collision, Kanda couldn't stand it when he heard him apologizing to the pole.

_For fuck sakes_–

"Oi, dumbass, you do realise you're apologizing to a _pole_," he grunted, grabbing at the smaller's arm and yanking him up to his feet in one big motion. "Can you not walk in a straight line without hitting into something."

Squeaking in surprise, Allen lurched forward from the force and fell into the other. Fumbling on the spot, he pressed his hands onto the person's torso and pulled away, accidently forgetting his hands were still touching the elder's chest as he glanced up at the voice. Extremely soft hair brushed against his face and he questioned whether this person was male or female.

_This hair is really long… Wait, that can't be a girl… This person has a deep voice and a broad chest and_–

"Hn, so you really aren't an old man…" Kanda muttered, looking down at his face. He noticed the foggy eyes and– _So the brat's blind, eh? _"…Moyashi."

_This person is a complete and utter jackass._

Furrowing his eyebrows, Allen picked at his brain for the word 'moyashi' and its meaning. "Moyashi? And who's an old man!? I'm–" The white-haired teen was about to blurt out his age, which obviously, you don't tell randoms on the street after they have just…insulted you? Did he insult him? He called him something. Whatever that was.

"You're…" Kanda offered, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"Nothing!" Allen puffed his cheeks out and pouted unintentionally, receiving a look from the elder but going unseen. _Wow Allen, smooth._

"Che, what an annoying brat."

"I'm not a brat!" He wailed indignantly, arms flailing at his sides and eyebrows furrowed.

"Really because you sure look like one, Moyashi," Kanda countered, not caring he was arguing with a blind person…and acting like a child while he was at it. But no, Kanda did not act like a child in the slightest. He certainly did _not_. And he _definitely_ wasn't acting like one right now with the kid in front of him. Not at all.

Grinding his teeth, Allen finally snapped and balled his hands into fists, waving them at the teen before him. "I have a name and it's _Allen, _you conceited bastard, not Moyashi!"

"Hn, like I'd care. You're a moyashi to me and that's it."

"_Arghh!" _he cried, frustrated. Timcanpy darted away from the fuming teen when he started to stomp his feet in irritation. Not knowing what to do moved, only to smack right back into Kanda's legs.

"Really? Can _you _not walk straight either," taking a good look at the brightly-coloured dog, he noticed the collar in his mouth and couldn't help but scoff. "And this mutt should be on a goddamn leash yet you can't even manage that. How pathetic."

"H–Hey! Usually Timcanpy is well behaved!" the white-haired teen defended with a huff, looking at where he thought the man was standing with a heated gaze. "He just…I don't know, found something interesting and ran after it is all. And Timcanpy is not a mutt!"

"Che."

..

..

Silence engulfed the two of us – plus Timcanpy – as we stood there. I could only assume the person I had snapped at – rather stupidly – was staring at me like they always do. I could feel a piercing gaze locked on me and it made me feel like I was frozen on the spot by it. Fidgeting with my fingers, I wrung them before lifting a hand to rub at the back of my neck, glancing down at my feet.

_Geez, I can't even see who this person is, Augh, that was so stupid to shout at him. How could I have acted so foolishly?_

Opening my mouth to apologise for my careless behaviour, I was interrupted rather abruptly when a loud tune filled the silence, startling me. I was as still apprehensive of loud noises such as ringtones due to my…situation. Rustling of clothing caught my attention and I deduced it to be from the person opposite me as he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"_What?_"

His voice was more of a growl than anything and I jumped a little at the amount of venom attached to the single syllable. After debating whether to quietly thank him – for sort of assisting me – and leave to be on my way or stay, I chose the former.

"Um, thank you, sorry…" I muttered softly, trying not to switch his anger back onto me, and shuffled to the right.

His conversation suddenly halted and I heard the snap of a phone closing. Gulping nervously, I continued on with my plan, not noticing when a hand curled around my wrist and pulled, harshly. Squeaking out a small sound of protest, I fell backwards into him for the second time that day.

"And where do you think you're going?" he growled irritably.

"…Home?" I answered hesitantly. Why couldn't he just leave me alone?

"You must be an idiot to walk home like this. That mutt over there isn't even guiding you like he's supposed to be. Where are you heading. I'll drive you."

"Ummm…" I didn't know whether to refuse politely or just accept. _Obviously you don't accept. You don't even know who this guy is Allen! Be smart and don't get yourself into more trouble than you should. _"Sorry, I don't think–"

"I'm not going to do anything to you, jesus. The only reason I'm offering is because you look pathetic flailing on the sidewalk and that idiot called my brother decided not to drag his ass out here to meet me after all. Either I drive you home or I ditch and leave you to find your own way home without any proper help. I could care less really."

When he said it like that….well…I did have Timcanpy to protect me if I needed any and it's not like I can't take care of myself anyway. I was in Cross' care anyhow, how could I _not _be able to fend for myself?

"…Alright."

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_A/N: Reviews are nice. They make me happy…I guess._


	6. Chapter 6

**Welcoming the Darkness**

_Chapter Six_

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_A/N: Sorry, exams, speeches, fevers and internet being a bitch for a WHOLE MONTH...but I'm back – not that anybody cares. Here, have a chapter that sucks, I tried and failed yet still provided. I'm pathetic._

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Stepping lightly, Allen gripped onto the side of the car, searching with his fingers for the door handle. Sighing in frustration, he was about to give up when, finally, he felt something of a different material that he presumed to be the handle. Curling his fingers around it, he pulled and stepped back so he wouldn't hit himself with the door, like he's done once before – or twice.

The rise and fall of his chest was more obvious in his nervousness and he willed his heart to beat just a little slower. Of course, this wasn't his best choice of the day, to get in a car with someone he barely knew but…it didn't seem like the man wanted to hurt him. Although, for someone he barely had time to be acquainted with, Timcanpy had taken an unusual liking to the latter and acted as though he wanted to play with him, as far as the cursing and swears pouring out of the man's mouth could possibly mean.

Sliding half into the passenger seat, after snaking his hand down the back rest and base in search of anything he might possibly crush under his weight, Allen deemed it bare when he didn't knock into anything. He barely registered the sounds of a door opening and slamming shut before something wet and hot ran down the left side of his face.

His hand shot up and cupped the left side of his face, letting go of the door in favour of finding the source of the action. Puffs of hot air blew into his face and whatever had ran down his face was now gliding over his right hand, startling him into jumping backwards. Stupidly, he had forgotten he was getting into a car and slammed his head on the roof of it. Just as he was about to clutch his head, the door attempted to swing close and hit him on the ass.

As he let out a yelp of surprise, trying not to hit something else, Kanda just gave him a glare from the other side for head-butting his car – not that he cared much for the ridiculous vehicle. He also glared at Timcanpy for licking the blind kid and startling him in the first place.

"Oi, get in the car and _don't _hit anything else, got it," he growled impatiently.

A quiet "yes, sorry" was his only answer. Snorting at his obedient attitude, a change from a little while ago, Kanda yanked Timcanpy backwards by the scruff of his neck, allowing the younger teen to get into the car without any more stupid interruptions for the day. The elder was tired and pissed that his brother never showed up, meaning he had to do all the work himself – plus his brother's load.

_Lazy bastard… _Kanda swore inwardly, gritting his teeth and glaring out the window.

Placing one foot into the car, Allen kept on hand on the door and one on the top of the car to make sure he didn't hit his head again. Using his memory of what the inside of cars should be like – he hasn't been in one for a _long _time – he reached for the glove compartment and then the seatbelt after closing the door. Successfully grabbing that, he drew it over his chest to where he remembered the hold used to be placed, except he couldn't find it.

A whine of defeat sounded from next to Kanda and the dark-haired male glanced over to see if the brat was done with seating himself in the goddamn car by himself. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he swiftly snatched the seatbelt out of the other's grasp and snapped it into the hold before he could react.

"If I'd have left you, you would've taken forever to just put on your seatbelt…" Kanda grunted for an explanation, although still managing to sound like he was pissed off. Absentmindedly, Allen wondered whether he was actually pissed or if he always sounded like that.

Closing his eyes, the white-haired teen listened to the sounds of the person beside to him start the car. A shudder of life ran throughout the car's metal structure and he couldn't help the stiffening of his muscles. It had been so long since he'd taken proper transport. And he still couldn't get used to the feeling of moving but notquite_ 'moving'_.

Releasing Timcanpy from his iron-grip now that the brat was appropriately seated, Kanda watched the boy flinched when the mutt seated itself in his lap and licked his cheek again, making himself known this time. Dark midnight eyes watched the other teen smile down sheepishly at his dog before trailing over the hands that clutched handfuls of fur with a tightness that looked like it hurt. Although the grip only got tighter when he finally stepped down lightly on the gas pedal, the dog still didn't react and just settled down comfortably between the younger and the glove compartment.

Brushing it off as nothing serious, the breathing coming from the latter quickened and he kept an eye on him even as he drove just in case something did indeed happen. Not that he cared. He was only making sure he wasn't the one held responsible for the kid if something went wrong, whatever it was.

Fingers tightened and slackened with every inhale and exhale respectively. Allen's history with cars wasn't a good one and, even though he was wearing a seatbelt, he was still scared of crashing, or hitting someone, or–

"Your breathing is starting to get really annoying. Calm down, nothing bad is going to happen."

He really wanted to believe him wholly, but the nagging feeling was still there and he couldn't rid of it entirely. Laughing sheepishly, Allen rubbed the back of his neck and released Timcanpy's fur from his unintended abuse, before stroking it with care.

"I'm just…not used to being in a car. Not really anyway. It's not like I can see where I'm going in the first place…" the teen muttered, his hair obscuring the top half of his face from Kanda's direct line of sight.

Raising an eyebrow in question, Kanda remembered the brat wouldn't be able to see and turned back to focus on the road. He said nothing bad would happen and he was sure to make certain of his words. Instead, he grunted in reply to the boy's confession and didn't question him further – not that he had asked any questions in the first place.

Resting in a comfortable silence, Allen noticed the person to his immediate right hadn't said anything more. He also came to be aware that whoever it was hadn't even commented on his appearance, at all. This whole day he had been called a 'freak' or 'monster' but for the whole time he had talked to the man, he'd only been called 'brat' or 'moyashi'.

_Whatever that meant, _he groaned to himself, though the way it was spoken sounded very familiar, yet he couldn't put his finger on it. Other than that fact, it also came painfully aware neither of them had mentioned their destination. Well, _his _destination to be exact.

Fidgeting in his seat, Allen finally found it in himself to speak, breaking the contented silence with a draw out word:

"Um…."

"What." Kanda barked the word out as if it was a statement but the latter quickly replied, hoping the man hadn't already passed his desired street.

"It seems I never told you where to drop me off," the younger mumbled hastily, hopefully not angering the man in any shape or form. He had no reason why he felt as comfortable – or uncomfortable, it was quite hard to pinpoint the correct feeling – as he did around him but he wasn't going to start complaining. "Have we already past Noah Street? Because that's where I'm heading."

"Noah? That's one of the areas with the highest sale demands," Kanda glanced at him from the side with an even gaze, face still in the direction of the road. Not that it mattered to the Japanese teen, but he hadn't expected a brat to be living in such an expensive area. Then again, he was blind…

"Ahh….well, my guardian likes to live in luxury….and all that." Allen muttered, his tone giving the impression he didn't want to dabble more on the topic.

"Hn…"

Both didn't say another word and Allen noticed that he never did answer his question, "so…"

"No, we haven't passed it, now shut up."

So Allen promptly shut his trap for good measure, even when he was itching to give a snappy retort to that command. Though sitting next to – and possibly screaming at – the only other passenger of a car you were currently in wasn't such a good idea while said person was the one at the wheel of a car he knew nothing of. Who knows what he would do if Allen just suddenly started an argument? Maybe a crash or – not all that likely, but still not limited to – throwing him out and driving away, leaving him to wonder just where in the hell he was.

Shaking his head a little, the white-haired teen just sighed in defeat and sat in silence, stroking Timcanpy's fur. In it, he could feel some twigs and leaves, probably from when he had dashed off. Had he run into a bush or something? That seemed unlikely for Tim to do – not that Allen hadn't heard of him doing it before…on numerous accounts.

While he pondered on this, a sweet but musky smell assaulted his nose and his eyes widened when he finally noticed. It hadn't been there before – or maybe he was just paying very little attention – but now it was pretty much everywhere. The smell wasn't bad really….okay, he would admit it actually smelt quite damn good. Addictive, even. It was kind of an earthy scent that had hints of…_flowers?_ No, it was more specific than that…

…_.Lotus? Great, I'm going crazy now… Smelling things that aren't even there…_

He didn't know how he knew _that_ particular scent, although he didn't have time to dwell much on the topic before the person next to him asked – snarled, was more like it – where he wanted to be dropped off, past the turn at the corner.

"That's alright, I can walk from here."

He noticed the silence where the latter was probably giving him a disbelieving look. "Really, Timcanpy will guide me. If he wants to eat dinner, he will." From his lap, said dog barked loudly in the affirmative.

Kanda scoffed but didn't say or do anything against his decision. If the kid wanted to get out, so be it. He just wanted to go home and sleep without his father there to annoy the shit out of him every few minutes. "Sure, get out."

Allen just raised a brow at those uncaring words. So…he _wanted _him to leave now? Or was he always like that…? Forgetting about it, the blind teen felt the left side for the handle of the door so he could get out and finally go home. When he found it – a lot easier this time around – he turned back to thank the man but was silenced by Timcanpy, whom decided to show his affection with a slobbery greeting, turning his grateful words into a strangled whine.

"Augh….." he groaned, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, "thanks for the ride, I guess."

"Just hurry up and get out," the Japanese teen grunted, not even looking at the boy as he stumbled out of the car with his bear-like dog before softly closing the door behind him. Once he was alone in his own car, Kanda just looked out the passenger window to catch a quick glance at the blind kid, smiling down at his dog. Realising what he was doing, he scoffed, face contorted into a grimace, "…I'm turning into a goddamn _softy_…"

_Fuck…_

..

..

Falling face first onto his plush – as plush as he could image it – bed, Allen sighed. He was home again. _Finally_.

"Sleeeeeep– wait…"

Pushing himself off the bed, he leaned on his bent elbows to grab at the backpack he had discarded upon immediate entry. Finding it was out of reach, Allen called Timcanpy to help him retrieve it. He waited for a few seconds and no reply came. He called _again _and the sound of the fridge being pawed at filled the silence.

"Right, food…"

Huffing, the white-haired teen rolled from his laying face-down position on his bed to his back, not noticing the distance covered included the air after the side of his bed, only to realise the hard way – bed mattresses don't necessarily go on for forever.

"–Ouch!" Smacking face-first into the floor sure gave him a wake-up call and he placed a hand on his stinging nose, finally getting _up _off the floor with a few more pained groans, "ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…."

That's when he decided to remember everything _else _he still had yet to finish. Groaning once more, he nudged Timcanpy's body out of his way and opened the fridge door, snatching whatever he felt was the right ingredients, and then setting them out on the kitchen top to prepare. It wasn't regularly that he allowed Tim to eat dog food – he always believed that his dog should get to eat good food too – and today was another day he felt he deserved something better than dry dog treats as a 'meal'.

Minutes later and food for the both of them was ready. Placing a dish of pasta and sauce on the floor beside the table, Allen dug in, cleaning everything Timcanpy didn't. Today the blind teen felt lazy, so deciding to leave the dirty plates in the sink for later, soaking them in water so they didn't stain, he head off back to his room without his guide dog to help – tripping on various things in his way, while also smashing into a wall thrice – Allen kicked his shoes off, threw his clothes onto the floor and crawled into bed, content.

"Oh right…I should ask later how Lenalee looks….Lavi too," he mumbled absently, pressing further into his blankets.

..

..

"Why didn't I do everything _before _I went to bed!? _Arghh!"_

The ringing of the phone got Allen out of his rushed state for only a second, standing in the middle of the living room and staring off into the direction he assumed the phone was at. Its location was truthfully unknown and thus, he dived down onto the floor – it was covered in junk he either knocked into or tripped over in his hurry – scuttling along with arms outstretched to grasp the damn thing.

It was only a while later when he heard the piercing ringing of the phone getting closer. And then it literally hit him. Cursing, he sat up and picked the phone off the floor, pressing the second left button while scolding Timcanpy for dropping it on his head.

"Hello…?"

"_Allen? Oh good, for a second I thought my brother had given me the wrong number…!" _A rather familiar voice chirped happily.

"….Lenalee? How did you get my n– Did you just say Komui gave you?" he groaned. _'Komui….you don't hand out private information so easily like that….' _And then he realised something: "Uhm, may I ask why you're calling?"

"_Oh Allen…" _he heard her sigh on the other side, _"…have you checked the time yet? You're late! I was wondering if you were alright or not – although seeing as how you've answered my call, you're still at home."_

Shit. "Wh– Uhh, how late am I right now?" Allen asked quietly. He hoped his first class' teacher was a kind one.

"_Nearly eight minutes – it's not that bad but you'll take, what, around fifteen to just walk here–?" _In the background he could hear another voice shout: _"so move that butt o' yours and get over here, Allen! Lenalee is freaking out– ow! Lenalee, that hurt!"_

Yep, that was definitely Lavi with her.

…_.wait, if I'm already late…._

"Why is Lavi with you? Doesn't he have class!?"

"_Ah, that doesn't matter right now; he's got a free period_– _Just hurry up Allen! Class is starting!"_

"Eh!? Y– Yeah, I'll be there soon, bye."

He didn't wait for an answer before hanging up. Allen dropped the phone and rushed back to his room – tripping over a few more things on his way – before sprinting – and falling in a rather odd fashion – down the stairs to the front door. Whistling for Timcanpy, he was pleasantly surprised to find him beside him in a few seconds with something in his mouth that was brushing against his leg.

"Oh, my wallet! Good job Tim, let's go!"

His run to school was, thankfully, an uneventful one where he didn't trip – that badly – and made it to the building within the first twenty minutes where the staff would usually close the school gates so that the late people _had _to walk past the front office and sign in late.

"Um, the room….! Oh no, the _room!_ I don't even know what building I'm in….!" Too busy wracking his brain for the room number and building, Allen was oblivious to the figure creeping up behind him until am arm found its way around his shoulders, freaking him out, yet not so much as to elicit a scream from him – only a strangled noise.

"Allen! So good you could make it just in time~" An eccentric voice bellowed proudly, not caring that classes had started not long ago and that they were currently standing right outside of one.

"K– Komui?" the white-haired teen asked hesitantly, taking into account the voice beside him. What was the principal doing wandering the halls of the school. He should have been doing paperwork at his office…

"Indeed! It is I!" The man announced boldly, a happy gleam in his eye. "My sweet Lenalee messaged me saying that I should meet with you and escort you to your classroom since she had to stay in class! Now because your last escort wasn't of any use–"

'…_Chaojī,' _he guessed, accidently missing a bit of what Komui was explaining.

"–nalee wanted to show you around, you'll have to settle with me~"

_Did she have to get the principal to do this…? Oh god…_

"But," he went on without waiting for Allen to interject with his own comment, "I don't have much time to help you, so it seems I'll have to get someone else to help you out– oh? Who is it I see there?" Raising his hand over his eyes, Komui squinted to get a better look, and then grinned evilly – not that Allen could spot that, although he felt a shiver go down his spine.

"Well, since no student should show up late to school, I'll ask whoever happens to be walking by at the time– look, there's someone now!" the childish principal faked innocent as he grabbed whoever it was that was walking along by the arm, earning a low growl.

Said growl startled Allen and he jumped a bit at the voice that followed:

"Komui – you bastard – what do you want."

…_.no..._

"Ah~ Kanda, always so nice to talk to you! How was moving out of Tiedoll's–"

"_Fine_,_"_ the dark-haired teen snapped irritated from being stopped by the overly happy moron that was _clinging to his arm._ "I said, what do you want. Answer me or I'm leaving."

_It couldn't be…_

"About that–"

"Get to the point."

"–I was wondering if you'd be able to help this young boy to his classes for today~" Without waiting for a reply, he sped off. "Thank you, Kanda, bye-bye~"

_This can't be him…_

"Komui, you idiot, get back here! I didn't agree to anything!" Kanda called after him with a scowl, inwardly cursing and swearing to himself that he'd murder that guy later. He heard a shuffling and turned his predatory gaze to the person he was 'asked' to lead around when he froze.

Allen had kept quiet the moment he heard that growl from the person Komui had pulled aside, recognising that voice. _Please don't make it be him… Not…that it could be. I mean, he can't possibly be in high school – and this high school specifically? No way!_

While Allen was reassuring himself that it wasn't who he thought it was, he didn't notice the person moving closer until he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning him around to face the latter.

_Please, anyone but–_

"….Moyashi?"

And that was when he too froze, the exact same word the latter had thought the day before seeping into his mind.

_Fuck._

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_A/N: It was rushed, badly written, complete and utter crap. I'm sorry._


End file.
